Cult of Personality
by dudelove85
Summary: Clara and Cosima's first meeting in eight months was ruined by the arrival of a Time Lord and a Scandinavian Leda clone, dragging them back into the murky world of clones and echoes. Standing in the way of their happiness is Rachel Duncan and PT Westmoreland. What connection does the Neolution founder have to Clara and the Time Lord? Sequel to Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
1. Another One Opens

_Chapter 1 - ...Another One Opens_

Clara slammed the TARDIS doors closed, grumpily following the Doctor, Cosima and MK down the steps towards the central console. She was frustrated beyond belief, of all the times for the Doctor to arrive in her front room it had to be at the moment she declared her love for Cosima. Their first time together had been spoilt by the renegade Time Lord and his awful timing. Her head was still coming down from her hormone induced high, leaving behind an aching feeling of longing for the dreadlock sporting woman just a few paces in front of her.

It was almost as though Cosima picked up on her thoughts as moments later, she slowed down her stride and stood next to Clara, "Don't worry, they'll be plenty of opportunities", the American whispered in to her ear. She felt Cosima's arm snake around her waist, feeling the warmth from the clone's body almost immediately. Compelled to acknowledge the gesture, she stretched up and kissed Cosima gently on the neck. Clara smiled internally as she felt Cosima's body react to her touch, her grip tightening on her waist almost immediately.

"Sorry am I interrupting you?" the Doctor once again spoilt the moment, his broad Scottish accent instantly deflating Clara's mood, "just because you named it a snog box", the Time Lord looked disgusted as he said those two words, "doesn't mean that you can do those types of things in the console room".

Cosima leaned in a little closer to Clara, "He definitely ruder this time", she said in a hushed tone.

"Yeah tell me about it", Clara grumbled. By now the TARDIS was already in flight, however, there was one other occupant that she had completely forgotten about. MK, the Scandinavian clone who had arrived with the Doctor, was standing awkwardly as far away from the console as she could. Her backpack was now resting on her front, her arms wrapped around it protectively. She wondered how this clone had managed to track down the Doctor so easily, many others had tried for years without so much as a sniff of the blue box.

In the light of the TARDIS, MK looked extremely pale. Clara immediately flashed back to the first time she encountered Cosima on the streets of Toronto several months ago. Panic filled her system, was MK also suffering from the degenerative disease that had nearly claimed Cosima's life? "Alright not science girl", the Time Lord addressed MK, "where are you taking us?"

Without verbally responding MK pulled her laptop from her bag and placed it on the console, "DYAD have been paying particular interest to this location", she opened up a map, "very high concentration of people, most I've seen outside of Canada".

"Can I?" Cosima asked her fellow clone, indicating at the laptop. MK looked reluctant but eventually allowed the American to look at the on screen map. Cosima's eyebrows furrowed as she zoomed out, "Melbourne?" she asked in surprise, "As in Melbourne, Australia?" MK nodded in confirmation, "I didn't realise that DYAD had a presence in Australia", she added.

"They don't", MK replied, quickly nudging Cosima's hands away from her laptop, "but Rachel has fingers in a lot of pies".

"Rachel, as in the Rachel who kidnapped Kira and I before attempting to destroy your cure?" she directed the question at the room but all the time her eyes were on Cosima. The last time she had seen Rachel Duncan was on the floor of a lab inside DYAD headquarters with a pencil protruding from her eye. She was alive when they left her but it sounded like she had fully recovered and was back to her malevolent best.

"Yeah, fortunately there's only one Rachel messing with our lives", Cosima groaned.

"There really is a lot you need to tell me", Clara said firmly, she really had missed a lot in the eight months since her adventure in Toronto. Out the corner of her eye, she could see the Doctor glaring at the trio of women. There was a look of frustration on his face, something which she had learned wasn't a good thing, "Stare any harder and your eyebrows will fall off", she commented to the Time Lord.

"Forgive me for wanting to know why I'm taking my TARDIS to the other side of the planet", the Doctor replied sarcastically, "for the record I really don't like being deceived not science girl".

Clara pinched the bridge of nose in annoyance, the Doctor wasn't in her good books today, "Can you at least address them by their proper names, I know civility isn't your strongest attribute but could you at least pretend to care", she snapped. She had become very sensitive about people not viewing the clones as individual people. It probably wasn't the Time Lord's intention but he was coming off a little disrespectful. A gentle touch on the arm from Cosima quickly evaporated her tension, "I'm sorry Doctor but this has come as a surprise to me".

"Apology accepted", the Doctor stated, not really acknowledging that he had partially caused the situation, "setting co-ordinates for Melbourne Australia, like a good taxi driver", he grumbled under his breath

Cosima suddenly snorted, "You were right", she said, remembering her earlier conversation with Clara. Turning her attention to MK she asked, "How did you know where to find the Doctor?"

MK went to reply but suddenly coughed. Her eyes went wide and she looked surprised when the fit passed after a couple of deep coughs. Both Clara and Cosima looked at each other, a bad feeling passing between them. "Your phone isn't very secure", MK eventually replied, "I found the Doctor's number in your address, then called him using a mirror of your number".

Instinctively Clara fumbled with her handset, "You hacked my phone?" she asked incredulously.

"I wouldn't take it too personally", Cosima said, "Mika here can hack virtually anything", she added with a proud smile at her fellow clone.

"It was necessary", MK continued, "I have been following and protecting Sarah and the others for a long time". Her head twist curiously towards Clara, "You are a rogue element and various parties have been following you". Clara froze, someone had been keeping tracks on her all this time? She hadn't noticed anything unusual but then again, her life was far from normal at the best of times, "Who knows what would've happened if you hadn't turned up", MK added, dragging Clara out of her private freak out.

"I know I wouldn't have been as happy", Cosima smiled broadly at the English teacher.

"Aww", Clara replied, her heart warmed by the comment. She ignored the disproving look from the Doctor and placed a tender kiss on Cosima's cheek. She had to agree with Cosima, even though they hadn't seen each other in the flesh for several months, just the knowledge that the American was out there kept her going.

The moment was interrupted by another coughing fit from the Finnish clone, this one much more violent than the last, "MK you should be resting somewhere", Cosima stated, acutely aware of the rehabilitating nature of the illness.

"I'm fine", MK was able to choke out between breathes. It was clear that she was far from alright, there was spots of blood on her hands and on the floor of the TARDIS. Suddenly she went very still and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

Clara and Cosima cried out as MK slumped towards the ground. The Doctor though was much quicker than the two women, catching the tumbling clone before she could hit the floor. Cosima immediately rushed over to her sister clone, carefully taking her vital signs, "She having a fit", the American said confidently.

"Wait for her spasms to ease and we'll move her to the medical bay", the Time Lord added, keeping his arms gently yet firmly wrapped around MK.

Clara though had frozen, she knew that Cosima had suffered from fits at the height of her illness but see someone who looked like her suffering, that really brought it home, "Don't worry, it will soon pass", Cosima attempted to soothe her girlfriend's nerves. The teacher appreciated the gesture but it wasn't really working. This might be the first time she had met MK but her connection to Cosima made it feel like she had known the Finn for her entire life.

The seizures soon eased and the Time Lord was able to carefully lift MK up and walk her towards the infirmary. Clara thought the room was further away but the TARDIS must've sensed the urgency and moved it a little closer to the console room. Laying the clone down on the nearest available bed, the Doctor began to scan her with his sonic sunglasses, "That stuff you used on Cosima, could you use it on MK?" Clara asked.

There was an agonising silence as the Doctor completed his scan. Somehow Clara knew the news wasn't good by the way he slowly removed the glasses, "The disease is too far advanced", he said solemnly and began to tap away on a console beside the bed.

"Can't you do anything for her?" Cosima begged, the footage she watched of Jennifer Fitzsimmons slowly wasting away at the forefront of her mind.

"I'm doing it now", the Doctor replied without looking up from the console, "the TARDIS is equipped with a temporary stasis field which will suspend MK here in time. It's only a temporary solution, which is why we need to make this trip to Australia quick". He threw his sunglasses over to Clara, "We should be landing in a couple of minutes, I'll stay here and keep an eye this one". Clara nodded and hurried out the room, leaving a confused Cosima to follow behind.

By the time Cosima had caught up with Clara, she was already inspecting the controls of the TARDIS, "He taught you how to fly this?" she asked in awe.

"Sort of", Clara replied, a deep frown on her face, "enough to manage in an emergency but that's it. He's probably worried that I'll steal it and run off across the universe in his box". The teacher found the button she was looking for and gave it a firm push, slowing the pace of the time rotor. She could see Cosima looking at her curiously, it was making her feel a little uncomfortable, "You're staring now", she smirked.

"It's nothing", Cosima shook her head, "but you're different somehow, you've become more like the Doctor".

Clara hadn't thought about that before, she had become a little more assertive during her travels in the last few months. It had been a gradual evolution, although taking the lead during the incident with the Boneless was probably the true starting point, "Does that make you think differently of me?" she asked, a little afraid of the answer.

There was a brief pause, leaving Clara in suspense, "Just remember Clara you only have one life", the American replied, turning her attention to MK laptop to get more information about their destination.

Cosima's response confused Clara, of course she was aware that she only had one life. What the clone was trying to imply with that comment was a mystery, one to which she would get to enquire about. The TARDIS made the familiar groaning noise, indicating they had reached their destination. Clara pulled down on the main control lever, parking the TARDIS securely, "TARDIS Airlines welcomes you to Australia", she said with a cheeky smile, attempting to push the previous conversation out of her mind.

"My compliments to the flight crew", Cosima smiled briefly in response before turning back to the laptop. Clara skipped around the console, snaking her arm across the American's shoulders, "There's a lot of links on here for someone called Daniel Thowercas", she commented.

"Never heard of him, is he any good?" Clara replied.

"No idea, apparently he's a writer", Cosima stated, scrolling through the mass of material on MK's laptop, "he's attending a signing session in a small book store in the centre of the city today", the clone frowned and shook her head, "or tomorrow, this travelling in a box thing is totally confusing".

"Just wait until you travel in time", Clara smiled and offered her arm to Cosima, "what do you say, shall Cossie and Ossie go visit the land down under?"

"I thought you'd never ask", Cosima replied with a broad smile and the pair left the TARDIS, hoping to find this Daniel Thowercas as quickly as they could.

 _ **A/N –**_ _Welcome to the much delayed sequel to "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace". I'll be honest I've had this initial chapter on my computer for months but the lack of new Doctor Who and Orphan Black kinda drained my creative juices. With DW back and OB returning soon, it's reignited my desire to continue where Echoes left off. _

_I can't promise quick or regular updates though, my muse seems to be wondering around at the moment and I'm striking wherever the iron is hottest. Hope you enjoy._


	2. Your Face Or Mine?

_Chapter 2 – Your Face Or Mine?_

Despite her frequent travels in the TARDIS, Clara still had to marvel at the ancient time ship. Mere minutes ago she and Cosima were inside her flat in London and now they were on the other side of the world. Judging by the warm sunshine it was some time during the afternoon. She took a couple of moments to allow the heat of the sun to soak into her skin. Her travelling companion though was a little more stunned by the TARDIS's travelling ability, "Holy crap", Cosima gasped, "is this really Australia?"

"Probably", Clara shrugged, "the TARDIS can be a little unpredictable". Looking around the English teacher found a few references to Melbourne, indicating that they had arrived in the correct place. The TARDIS was parked down a side alley next to an industrial rubbish bin. A nearby door opened, revealing a slightly startled looking waitress, "Oh, hello", Clara greeted the woman. The waitress though merely gaped at the TARDIS in shock, "It's a prop, filming a new TV show", the Englishwoman continued. She firmly grasped Cosima's hand, "Gotta go, schedule to keep".

The pair dashed out the alley, giggling at the dazed and confused woman they left behind, "Dude did you see the look on her face", Cosima laughed. When they were a suitable distance away they slowed their pace and finally took in their surroundings. Clara glanced over at her girlfriend who was staring at the buildings with wide eyed wonder. She briefly wondered if she looked like this after her first trip in the TARDIS. "This is freaking unreal", Cosima threw an arm around Clara's shoulder, "I mean its day time now so we must've travelled in time too".

Clara hadn't thought about that until now. It was around seven in the evening back in London but the clock down the street said it was one in the afternoon here in Melbourne. Not a massive jump when you've travelled through the centuries but to a newcomer a few hours must've seemed like a miracle, "I travelled a few hours into the future on my first trip too", the teacher stated, "skipped straight ahead to breakfast. Little disappointed that I've missed it this time though".

"Sorry", Cosima blushed, "I must like a total novice, gushing over every little thing".

The brunette smiled and kissed the clone on the cheek, "You can gush away all you want". She took Cosima by the hand, making sure to interlace their fingers, "Tell you the truth I don't really remember much about my first trip, I was too busy recovering from getting sucked into cyberspace".

"You're shitting me?" Clara shook her head firmly, "now this I've gotta here", the dreadlocked clone smiled.

Clara's story occupied most of their walk down the street and after several minutes, it became apparent that the women were lost. Cosima wilfully admitted that she hadn't left North America until a few days ago and had been relying on Clara's travelling experience to navigate them around. In return the teacher shrugged and stated that most of the time she and the Doctor wondered around aimlessly. Trouble had a nasty habit of finding them.

The couple walked past a vintage shop, complete with peeling black paint on the frontage. Clara was about to walk on but Cosima stopped in her tracks, pulling the teacher back in the process. When she looked inside, Clara realised it was a vintage book store, "You and your books Cos".

"Think you're missing the point", the clone pointed at a sign in the window advertising a special guest appearance by Daniel Throwercas, "alright so what's the plan, is there some kind of secret time traveller's code we have to follow?"

"Well the Doctor tends to wonder around and let things unfold around him", Clara shrugged, "keep your eyes open for anything suspicious". Cosima nodded and followed closely behind Clara as they entered the book shop.

The store was much deeper than it appeared from the outside. The entrance way was narrow and lined with shelves but opened out into a square shaped area with a table at the far end. The shop was already full of people, mostly queuing around and up to the table. Sitting down was a man in his mid thirties with spiky blonde hair and a deep tan. Clara watched as a small, excitable child handed a book to the man. He smiled brightly in return before signing the youngster book, "That must be the author", the school teacher began, "reckon we could get an autograph?"

"Might have to pretend to have a child", Cosima handed over a book, "Mr Throwercas is a child's author". Clara scanned the cover of the book, _The Many Adventures of Daisy Dare,_ all the time wondering what DYAD would want with a child's author, "They're pretty good", Cosima continued, "I've seen Kira reading them a few times".

Clara flipped the book over and read the blurb on the back. Almost immediately her eyes widen, "Listen to this", she began, "Join Daisy as she travels across the world searching for her long lost cousins". The teacher then checked out a few other books in the series, all of the illustrations featured Daisy with other similar looking girls. The only real difference was the way they dressed, "Lazy cartoonist or secret hidden message?" she asked her girlfriend.

"Holy watershed", Cosima grabbed another book from the shelf, "how have I never noticed this before?" Clara was about to comfort Cosima, however, she quickly read the rear cover of the book, "Daisy's greatest adventure yet", she began, "as she travels into space to rescue her cousin from a missing spaceship".

Something triggered inside Clara's mind at the mention of missing spaceship. She grabbed her own copy of the book and gasped at the illustration. The title character was standing next to her 'cousin' who was wearing a red dress and trainers. Looming over the pair of them was a cartoon drawing of something that looked awfully like a Dalek, "Oswin", she whispered.

"Who's Oswin?" Cosima asked, "says here the character is called Olivia".

"Oswin Oswald", Clara replied, "Junior Entertainment officer abroad the Starship Alaska". Cosima's was so stunned by the mention of Oswin Oswald that she nearly dropped the book, "Sole survivor after the Alaska crashed only to be converted into a Dalek due to her high intelligence".

"Freaking out a little bit now", Cosima stated breathlessly, "but where would some Australian writer get the inspiration for stories about your echoes?"Clara chewed on her lip, that was one question she didn't have the answer to. There was a number of possibilities, all of which as likely as the other. It was one of the problems of travelling through the fourth dimension, things tended to get complicated very quickly.

Out the corner of her eye she spotted a couple of people pushing through the crowd, two tall men in dark suits. Almost immediately Clara's danger sense was sending out some very loud warnings, "Something tells me they don't want an autograph", she said to Cosima.

"Totally agree with that", the clone replied, "got any space magic to clear these people out?"

Clara sighed she should've asked the Doctor to borrow his sunglasses or the psychic paper, either one of those would've created a very useful distraction. Suddenly her eyes fell on the wall next to Cosima, "No space magic", she smiled and smashed her hand against the fire alarm, "sometimes the classics are the best", she shouted over the din of the alarm.

As the couple looked around, they noticed Daniel Throwercas getting escorted out the rear of the building. Curiously though the two burly men weren't interest in the author, they were still looking around at the crowd departing out the front door, "Something's not right", Clara pointed out, "they're not looking for Daniel".

"Over there", Cosima pointed out someone just exiting the door. The small build on the figure could only belong to a woman. Their target was wearing some jean shorts or possibly short dungarees. Clara could see a flannel shirt poking out the bottom of a black hoodie, "I bet that's who they're looking for".

Clara and Cosima joined the throng of people, making sure to keep their eyes on their mystery woman, "How can you be so sure?" Clara asked her girlfriend.

"The shifty looks coupled with clothing that deliberately hide your identity, pretty much Sarah's MO", Cosima shrugged, "trust me, this is who we're looking for".

The pair didn't get too far in their pursuit of their mystery woman when they hear a call from behind them, "Hey stop!" Instinctively Clara and Cosima turned around, exposing their own identities, "Look there's another one", one of the men said to the other, "our boss will pay handsomely for this".

"That's our cue to run", Clara grabbed Cosima by the hand and took off down the street. The teacher almost didn't notice but their target was also off and running in the same direction.

"Does this happen to you a lot?" Cosima asked breathlessly.

"Most times although it's normally some alien trying to kill us not a couple of hired thugs", Clara answered. She kept running in the same direction as the woman from the book shop, something was calling to her to keep this stranger safe.

Their stride was interrupted by a sudden crack of gun fire, closely followed by shattering glass from a nearby window. Clara felt Cosima stumble in surprise, forcing her to pull her along. Further ahead she spotted the stranger also stumble, falling flat to the ground, "Grab her and head for the TARDIS", Clara instructed her girlfriend.

Cosima did as instructed although she was beginning to struggle with the brisk pace. Clara fell back a couple of steps to offer some protection if needed. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, calling the first number in her address book, "Doctor some guys are shooting at us, we could do with some help", she cried. Not waiting for a response she pocketed her phone again, she had to keep Cosima safe whatever the cost.

Recognising the alley where the TARDIS had landed, Clara pointed it out to Cosima. The clone staggered down the narrow path, practically dragging the mystery woman along for the journey. Clara allowed herself a backwards glance, the two men were closer than ever. More importantly one of them had the teacher in his crosshairs. Instinctively Clara ducked and turned sharply down the alley, just as a bullet grazed the wall beside her.

The TARDIS was in sight but there was no sign of the Doctor. Not only that but Cosima had run out of energy, she was doubled over near the rubbish bin where they had encountered the waitress, "Just another fifty metres", Clara cried.

"I can't", Cosima wheezed, "my lungs".

Clara cursed, in the panic to escape she forgot that the American still had damaged lungs from her respiratory disease, limiting her ability to run. She stood protectively in front of the clone as the men rounded the corner at speed, "We have you now", one of them shouted.

A split second later the door to Clara's right burst open, directly in the path of the two men. The lead man slammed into the door hard, he must've been knocked out instantly. The other man stumbled over his fallen friend, sliding to a halt feet away from Clara. The teacher grabbed the nearest thing to hand, a broken piece of wood and cracked it around his head. Their pursuer went cross eyed before slumping to the ground.

Taking a minute to catch her breath, Clara noticed the Doctor calmly stepping out the door with a porcelain cup in hand, "You took your time", Clara growled.

"I think you meant 'thank you for the rescue'", the Time Lord deadpanned, "you're welcome", he added and raised the tea cup. He took a sip but almost instantly spat it out, "Not enough sugar", he grumbled.

"So whilst we were getting chased and shot at, you were getting a cup of tea", Clara snorted.

"Your powers of observation are astounding Clara", the Doctor replied, "perhaps you should be more concerned with science girl", he pointed out the struggling Cosima.

Clara's head whipped around, Cosima was coughing violently into her hand, "I'm alright", she managed between breathes, "no blood or anything, just not used to the running".

"Better get used to it if you're sticking around", Clara smiled broadly.

At that moment the mystery woman spoke up, "I'm sorry but who the hell are you people", she said with a broad Australian accent. Clara froze, despite the accent that voice still sounded horribly familiar. She slowly turned to face the woman just as she lowered her hood. Staring her right in the face was a woman with exactly the same face as hers. The only different was a slightly paler complexion on the Australian coupled with a shoddily cut head of bleach blonde hair, "Why do you look like me?" the stranger asked with a shaky voice.

"Look don't freak out", Clara held her hands up defensively. The Australian though swayed on her feet before collapsing in a dead faint.

"I think she freaked out", the Doctor said grimly, "I do believe we've found another one of your echoes Clara". The teacher bent down to check on the woman but the Time Lord stopped her, "I wouldn't do that, remember what happened when you touched science girl".

"A nasty headache", Cosima added, showing no objection to the Doctor's nickname, "what does she have to do with this Daniel Throwercas person?"

The Doctor smiled, "And I thought you were smart", he chuckled, "they're the same person". He pointed at the fallen woman, "Clara, science girl I'd like to introduce Daniel Throwercas, the pen name of Catherine Oswald". Clara nearly fainted herself, seeing the face was one thing but hearing the name was something else. Knowing what she did about her echoes, the appearance of Catherine meant one thing; Trouble.


	3. Catch Up

_Chapter 3 – Catch Up_

The TARDIS medical bay had acquired another occupant and her presence was making the occupants of the time ship very uneasy. Clara leaned against a cool metal wall, biting nervously on her fingernails watching the Doctor sullenly scan Catherine Oswald with his sonic screwdriver. Despite her knowledge of the Leda clones, one of which was still unconscious in another bed, seeing her face on someone else was extremely unsettling. She felt an urge to approach the stranger, yearning for physical contact. This urge wasn't born out of desire though, more like two magnets attempting to join together.

There was so much she didn't understand about her echoes, even the Doctor struggled to comprehend their existence. There were so many questions she wanted to ask Catherine Oswald but she was too afraid to ask. Would the Australian native understand the situation? Would she be furious with Clara for technically creating her existence in the first place? Sometimes she wished that her biggest problem was finding time to complete the marking for her English classes.

Clara was so deep in thought that she barely noticed Cosima approaching, "You look lost", he clone noted, "been there before".

The English teacher let out a loud sigh, "How did you handle it?" she asked, "finding out you were a clone I mean".

Cosima hesitated for a moment, a small smile appearing in the corner of her mouth. She reached into her back pocket and Clara instantly recognised a crudely rolled cigarette in her hand, "Went straight into the bathroom and smoked one of these", she wiggled the joint between her fingers. "It was Beth who contacted me, totally not the best idea to be high in the presence of a detective", the scientist added.

Clara chuckled at that thought, she never got the chance to meet Beth Childs since the Canadian detective had committed suicide before she arrived on the scene. She heard plenty of good things from Cosima though but the impression she got was that Beth was a stickler for the rules, "Never been something I've done personally", Clara pointed at the joint, "too much of a good girl for that".

"Yeah right", Cosima snorted, nudging the teacher, "I totally have to get you baked one day". Clara smiled but she wasn't going to place that at the top of her to do list, "Just remember when she wakes up stay calm", Cosima continued, "it's going to be scarier for her than it is for you".

"Good advice", Clara hadn't thought about it like that before, she was aware of the echoes but Catherine certainly wasn't. In addition she could imagine the Doctor trying to explain this to a terrified woman, he would say the wrong thing within the first five seconds.

Feeling a little better Clara shifted her focus towards MK. The Finnish national hadn't woken up since collapsing in the console room a couple of hours ago, "How is she?" Clara nodded towards the fallen clone.

"Still fighting", Cosima sighed, "they built us tough, bit like the original actually".

The teacher nodded mubly before realising what Cosima said, "You found the original clone?" she asked. Cosima nodded slowly but Clara could feel something wasn't right, her girlfriend's shoulders slumped and she could see her chin wobbling slightly, "Cos what is it?" she said softly. The clone didn't answer though, she spun around so quickly that her dreads struck her face and she sprinted from the room.

For a moment Clara was stunned, she suspected that something bad happened during the last eight months but it was clearly worst that she realised. She glanced over at the Doctor who merely raised one of his heavy eyebrows, "Don't ask me", he said gruffly before returning to his patient.

Clara jogged out the medical bay in pursuit of Cosima. The corridors of the TARDIS were vast and she had no idea where the clone had gone. The TARDIS though kept giving her helpful nudges at every intersection until she arrived at a familiar looking door. Clara smiled and turned the brass handle to let herself in. Inside was a cosy bedroom with red painted walls and a double bed in the middle. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with Clara's favourite novels, including an autographed copy of Pride and Prejudice signed personally by Jane Austen herself.

Sitting on the middle of the bed was Cosima, clutching a stuffed grey hippo between her hands. Despite the situation Clara had to smile, "That was my favourite toy growing up", she said, sitting down next to Cosima, "well not that actual toy, this room is a perfect duplicate of my bedroom back in London".

Cosima barely acknowledged Clara until he slowly raised the toy, "What's his name?" she asked with a quiet voice.

Stroking the head of the animal Clara answered, "Her name is Amelia, I named after the explorer Amelia Eardhart. I had it in my head that I was going to travel the world just like her", she smiled to herself, "guess I was right in a way". Cosima was still largely unresponsive, choosing to stare at the hippo instead, "You don't have to suffer alone", Clara rubbed the back of the clone's neck, "you can tell me anything you know".

The American appeared to be responding to the gentle contact and after a few minutes began to open up, "Kendall Malone, she's the original source of our DNA", she began, "Siobhan's mother would you believe".

"Siobhan as in Mrs S?" Clara asked in surprise, "small world". The faraway and teary look in Cosima's eyes told her that something bad happened to Kendall, she didn't need to be a mind reader to know that, "It's alright Cos, you're safe here", she whispered.

"They killed her", Cosima blurted out, "right in front of me, one of Neolution crooked cops put a bullet in her head right then torched her body". A small tear fell from Cosima's eye, "We will never be safe from them, those are the kind of people we're up against".

For a moment Clara didn't know how to respond, sure she had seen death and destruction plenty of times during her travels but those were normally perpetrated by other species. Human cruelty to each other still made her feel a little queasy. The only thing she could think to do was lean in closer to Cosima, resting her head against the clone's shoulder and wrapping her left arm across her body. She could feel Cosima shudder occasionally as she cried silently, the raw emotion of the situation bringing a few tears to Clara's eyes.

Time passed very slowly for the two women but Clara was willing to spend as long as necessary with Cosima. She knew there was nothing she could do quickly to ease her girlfriend's pain but this was the first step on that path. Eventually Cosima shifted, positioning her face near to Clara's. The teacher could see the pain in the American's blotchy and red eyes but they slowly closed as the dreadlocked clone moved in for a kiss. The contact was gentle and a little wet but Clara didn't mind, this was what Cosima needed right now, "Thank you", she murmured

"That what I'm here for", Clara placed a gentle peck on Cosima's lips, "I think you should tell me everything I've missed in the last few months".

Clara spent the next few minutes listening intensely as her girlfriend recalled all of her adventures since the last time the English teacher visited Toronto. She was shocked to hear about Project Castor, a male line of clones comparable to Cosima and her sisters. Then there was the business with the mouth bots and the Brightborn company which sounded truly horrifying. Clara felt that Cosima wasn't telling her everything about those few weeks but for once, she was happy to only get part of the story.

The most shocking revelation though was the survival of Rachel Duncan although at great physical cost to the Brit. Clara subconsciously gripped Cosima hand at the memory of her capture and imprisonment at DYAD. It had been a terrifying experience but at the same time, it was the first time the couple had properly met.

That eventually led onto the work Cosima had been doing to create a long term cure for the clone disease that nearly killed her. The temporary solution the Eleventh Doctor administered worked wonders but it wasn't designed to last forever. Fortunately enough of the genetic sequence survived from that encounter for Cosima and Scott to begin working on something permanent. Despite the obstacles Neolution threw in their direction, including wiping all their research from their hard drives, the biologists had been successful. In theory at least.

The problem with their research was that it was just a theory. Their makeshift lab underneath a comic book store had limited technology, to prove their hypothesis they would need access to a proper lab. In order to do that they needed to make a deal with the devil in the form of Susan Duncan, Rachel's adopted mother and one of the chief scientists of Project Leda.

Listening in awe to Cosima's tale of visiting the mysterious island somewhere in the frozen northern reaches of Canada, Clara's stomach began to tighten. Based on Cosima's sudden arrival on her doorstep, something told her that this plan of Cosima's didn't end well. Unfortunately she was proven correct as the clone continued her story. Rachel made a grab for power, nearly killing her mother in the process. Cosima was fortunate to escape with Charlotte, a younger version of the Leda clones but left all her research behind. Cosima and Charlotte ran across the frozen island until they stumbled across a boat house. The American's childhood sailing experience came in handy as she was able to navigate away from the island and back to civilisation, "It's fortunate my disease has been stable", Cosima added, "any kind of relapse in those temperatures and would've been done for".

"Wow", Clara whistled, "that's some story but how did you end up in London?"

"When I finally got back to Toronto, Neolution were on the hunt for us", the American began, "I delivered Charlotte to Art, grabbed whatever I could and ran". She paused to gather her thoughts for a couple of moments, "Siobhan has some contacts in the military so I smuggled myself aboard a transport plane and flew across the pond".

Clara frowned, "You should've called me", she scolded, "I could've found a way to get you and the others out the country if that's what you wanted".

"I didn't want to drag you into this", Cosima snapped, "I'm eager to keep the time travelling alien away from the unhinged mad scientists, God knows what they would do with that information".

The English teacher wanted to argue back but Cosima was right, if Neolution got hold of the TARDIS they could wreak havoc across all of time and space. That still didn't stop Clara from being a little annoyed, "In case you forgot I am already involved in this", she glared directly into Cosima's eyes, "from now on we do everything together".

A few seconds passed before Cosima answered, "Got it boss", he smirked, "there is one part of the story I left out", Clara had that sinking feeling in her stomach once again, "Sarah's still on the island, she came to rescue me but never came back".

Clara chewed nervously on her lip, something told her that Sarah wasn't dead. If Rachel captured her, she would likely keep her fellow British clone prisoner just to gloat about her victory. It was likely she was still on the island which meant they had only one destination in mind, "Come on", the teacher stood up and extended her hand, "we need to tell the Doctor all of this".

"What are we going to do?" Cosima asked nervously, taking Clara's hand, "we can't just storm the island looking for Sarah".

"We can", Clara said firmly, "but we need a little bit of leverage first and that's exactly what we're going to get". She led Cosima out of her bedroom and down the corridors of the TARDIS, "The library should have some information about Neolution, maybe there's something in there we can use". Clara picked up the pace, there was still the issue of Catherine Oswald to address but she could only handle one problem at a time. Getting Sarah back along with Cosima's research was the most pressing issue right now.

 _ **A/N –**_ _Apologies for the delay updating this story, I got engrossed in Orphan Black season 5 and decided to wait to see how it ended before update. This chapter is largely an information dump to catch the audience up, next time the TARDIS goes to the island and Clara bumps into Cosima's ex..._


End file.
